Referral system Community Health Nursing

Community Health Nursing GNM

1. Referral system

2. INTRODUCTION: At each level of health care infrastructure, there is need for support from higher level of infrastructure and also from secondary & tertiary level hospitals to strengthen and promote credibility of primary health care system.

3. DEFINITION: “Referral system is defined as a system of transferring cases which are beyond the technical competence of one infrastructure to a higher level infrastructure/ institution having technical competency and all other resources to provide desired health services”.

4. Cont… The referral system is vertical in nature. The cases can be referred from village health post to SC/PHC, from SC to PHC/CHC and from PHC to CHC/secondary or tertiary level hospital and from CHC to secondary or tertiary level hospital. Provision is made for bypassing 1 or 2 level depending upon the nature and seriousness of cases so that required medical and nursing care can be given on time to the case and mortality and morbidity can be prevented and controlled.

5. PURPOSES: To provide need based comprehensive care within the technical competencies & resources at each level of primary health care infrastructure efficiently and effectively. To help people avail specialized services available at higher level institution which are beyond their reach. To streamline the appropriate use of PHC infrastructure and specialized services in order to prevent overloading of specialized institution by direct uses.